Support has to include court

Friday

Aug 30, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 1, 2013 at 9:24 AM

Q: I was told that the child support I am due would be deducted from my ex-husband's paycheck and sent to me through a court-

Q: I was told that the child support I am due would be deducted from my ex-husbandís paycheck and sent to me through a court-monitored agency. I have never received it that way; he just hands me cash from time to time.

Sometimes he buys things for our children, but then he deducts the cost from support.

How do I get him to do it the right way?

A: He is not permitted to make deductions from his support. It is pretty easy to start a payroll deduction so long as you know where he works.

If you have an Ohio child-support order, it undoubtedly provides for support to be withheld from his wages and paid through the Child Support Enforcement Agency.

Contact the agency in the county that issued the order and ask to be directed to your caseworker to review your options. The agency can issue a new withholding order that will be sent to his employer. If he is self-employed, the agency can obtain orders to withdraw the money from a bank account.

Your ex may be surprised to find that money he is paying you directly is considered a gift if he doesnít pay it through the court. Therefore, when you testify that he shorted you based on his self-help approach, he will have no way of proving the amount he paid.

Without records from the court, a magistrate has the power to find that he has paid nothing toward his obligation and order the correct amount to be deducted from his wages, along with an additional amount to repay you for everything he deducted. He is given no credit for direct payments.

A lawyer can file the appropriate motions. Your ex doesnít have the right to make changes to a court order. If he is found to be in contempt of court, he will probably be ordered to pay a reasonable amount to you to help cover the fees you incur, including attorney fees and court costs.